>> reporter: all things considered not much damage. a little here, little up there

they did a brisk business in the days leading up to the storm today they are ready for the morning after. >> we have squeegees, rakes, brooms. >> reporter: friedman's is also ready for christmas shoppers those late for 2012 and those way early for 2013. >> if you forgot your tree last month, come in it is 50% off. >> reporter: that last comment getting into the retail aspect of this day after christmas. i'll leave that for amy hollyfield, she will be live with that side of the story. terry mcsweeney, abc7 news. happening now winter storm warning remains in effect in the sierra. here's conditions right now from the caltrans traffic camera in south lake tahoe this is highway 50 within the past hour we've seen several dryers putting chains on they

are mandatory fresh snow on the ground forcing drivers to proceed with extreme caution like these folk as long i-80 at kingvale. >> we are learning more about the deaths of two people in avalanche-related accidents near lake tahoe. 53-year-old ski patrol member bill foster was buried while waking on avalanche control monday. the autopsy was intentionally set with explosives -- but it broke. a 49-year-old from truckee also died. a stretch of highway 1 south of big sur remains closed after rock slides from the weekend. these are pictures from caltrans the slide happened sunday afternoon crews are working to clear the debris and repair a 60 foot section of damaged road. here's the specific stretch of road closed no word on when it going to reopen, officials

hope to have one lane open later in the week. weather in the midwest and deep south was severe and turned deadly, power outages, flights cancelled, dozens of tornadoes turned down in several states. katie marzullo is here with dramatic images. >> reporter: this is mobile, alabama, you can see what looks like a large funnel cloud. the number has not been verified, 34 apparent tornadoes were reported when severe weather hit the south yesterday that has claimed at least six lives. it was a christmas to remember for all the wrong reasons. >> oh my god that's a tornado. look at that tornado! >> reporter: that was alabama several more of terrifying twisters touched down in texas before moving to wreak havoc in louisiana and mississippi this is the aftermath in pearl river county, mississippi, homes let with gaping holes. >> judging from some of the

damage we witnessed today it is a miracle that no one was hurt any worse than they were. >> reporter: that was not the case everywhere. tornadoes aren't the only problem. several people have died due to the storms, falling trees killed people in texas and louisiana. car accidents have claimed lives in oklahoma and arkansas. arkansas is covered in snow and ice nearly 200,000 homes and business are without power. >> electricity went out at our house and we're trying to get a stkwrepb ray for starts -- generator started. >> my friend is it off electricity and heat i come to get a propane exchange then the lights went out. >> reporter: blizzard conditions in kentucky, missouri, illinois and ohio. in ohio national weather service some places could get more than a foot of snow thousands without power and flights are cancelled. indiana could see nine to 11 inches of snow today. the mayor of indianapolis has

shutdown all city services, except police and fire. one last image, this is missouri, this storm system moving toward new england, bringing the possibility of more tornadoes to the coastal carolinas. more than 900 flights have been cancelled across the united states today. sfo reporting some delays to newark, philadelphia and dallas ft. worth. saw people throwing out salt to melt some of the snow. happening now in the bay area computer software problem causing delays between 5 and 30 minutes on caltrain. a spokeswoman says the glitch is causing a problem with the signals, delays of more than an hour when service began in morning. caltrain is using a back-up system and they hope to have trains on time by the evening. we know it is the day after christmas, let the returns begin. >> we'll have tips for making your returns go smoothly. why retailers are pinning

hopes on after christmas sales. good samaritan finds a man's wedding ring in the snow on the side of i-80. now comes the hard part, finding the owner. [ female announcer ] now get high speed internet at home on our newly expanded advanced digital network, a connection you can count on. introducing at&t u-verse high speed internet with more speed options, reliability and wi-fi hot spots than ever. call at&t now to get u-verse high speed internet for as little as $14.95 a month for 12 months with a one-year price guarantee. it's the fastest internet for the price. our newly expanded advanced digital network gives you more of what you enjoy online. and with at&t, our wireless gateway turns your home into a private wi-fi hot spot that connects your wi-fi devices and can even save on your smart phone data usage at home. so call now to get at&t u-verse high speed internet for just $14.95 a month for 12 months with a one-year price guarantee. that includes access on-the-go

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bargain shoppers are hitting stores in search of after christmas deals, stores are slashing prices in hopes of turning around a disappointed holiday season.

master card says retail sales increased only 7/10 of 1% weakest since 2008. amy hollyfield is live in san mateo with the deals. how are the crowds? >> reporter: picking up. i have to say, off to a slow start. there are definitely deals to lure people out. at old navy there were door busters 5:00 this morning. banana republic offering 50% until 1:00 this afternoon. we are still finding there are good parking spots, still available at the mall. the stores open ed early today in san mateo, the clerks far outnumbered the shoppers. >> i thought there would be more people here. old navy was open at 5, there were two other people with me in the store itch >> clerk said i was her second -- the clerk said i was her second customer in the last

hour, i got a parking space >> reporter: the mall opened at 8:00, there were plenty of deals, big discounts throughout the mall. target also opened early today, shoppers didn't sound too impressed. >> i was looking for jackets and sweaters and didn't find that much of a bargain. >> okay, my son needed a razor and got one that is half the price of what he paid for it originally. >> reporter: the big bargains could be found in the christmas section and were tough for some to resist came in for one item and ended up buying stuff at half price. >> reporter: last week in december is important for retailers. research shows the stores do 15% of the month's sales this week. ly important this year, nationally, people didn't spend as -- as much this holiday season as hoped. locally, we heard a different story. >> i spent more this year nan

in the past. my job gotten better, money gotten better. >> we were fortunate this year, a good year. >> reporter: one store owner tells me he's up 5% over last year. he says today he has seen a lot of exchanges and people using their gift cards. he says it is busier than a typical wednesday but doesn't compare to the very busy couple of days before christmas. amy hollyfield, abc7 news. >> a little break from the rain now. before you stand in a long line at the store, you might want to make sure you know about the return policy here are ground rules: first, expect 15 day return window on electronics from the time of purchase. bring your id, a lot of stores are going to ask for it. if you have a receipt, bring it with you, otherwise you may price. for more tips go to abc7news.com click on see it

on tv. if you are heading out to the mall is the weather going to be like? >> hopefully they have umbrellas on sale. >> uh-oh. >> dark includes coming at us from emeryville over san francisco as we look west and they are dark enough to drop light to moderate rain even small hail. i'll tell you when another round is coming. plus, russian lawmakers vote to prevent russian children from being adopted by american parents. the decision facing president vladimir putin that could affect hundreds of families.

the "los angeles times" has published thousands of files if the boy souths of america detailed allegations of sexual abuse by employees and volunteers including alleged incidents that happened between 1985 and 1991, the scouts kept many files private, until now. the alleged abusers include doctors, teachers and priests. in 2010 the organization mandated that any suspected abuse be reported to police. we have a link to the database on abc7news.com. look under see it on tv >> russia's parliament has approved a measure to ban americans from adopting russian children. now president vladimir putin

is debating whether to sign it. the bill is in response to a new u.s. law calling for sanctions for russia found to have violated human rights 46 children about to be adopted by u.s. citizens will stay in russia, if the bill is signed. president obama is cutting short his holiday to resume fiscal cliff negotiations. the white house says the president will leave hawaii tonight on a red-eye to washington. lawmakers have less than a week to come up to agreement on how to avoid tax increases and spending cuts set to go into effect january. the first lady and the couple's two daughters will remain in hawaii for another 10 days. for the first time starbucks' employees are being asked to write other than names on cups. the chain is asking employees in washington, d.c. to scribble the words "come together." as a message to lawmakers to settle the fiscal cliff.

>> some spots blue skies, some parts grey clouds. >> interesting the colors you will see out there rainbow colors out there and we've had some in the south baylor, i'll show you one from mountain view, san jose we just had moderate rain roll through downtown, darker clouds off to the west there and that's what is going to head up into the santa cruz mountains shortly. one other advantage point, at least this side of san francisco, we are on the embarcadero side at front and vallejo streets where it looks quiet. if you look back the other way, rain coming in. san francisco heading out here any second the -- let's look at live dopplers morgan hill ant boulevard just to the east of our camera where that darker cloud is, there's some of the

light rain falling. right here on thornton avenue up union city boulevard towards union city this is going to slide towards fremont possibly the great mall in milpitas f you are heading that way rain getting ready to move into where our studios are -- in the embarcadero towards fisherman's wharf back 280 towards daly city, ocean avenue. as we look to the northwest the radar returns aren't as numerous as they were this morning with the heating they could build and you could see some of this, check out the double rainbow that was sent by louie in mountain view earlier this morning. thank you for sending that in. everybody is at a surplus even livermore. oakland -- san jose at 141 you have come a long way were you well below for the longest time. santa rosa nearly 170% of

average. we are doing well as far as that, almost too well. 47 in san rafael, 48 oakland, 47 fremont, everybody else low to mid 50s coast. low 50s monterey bay and inland. light to moderate showers today, brief break tomorrow, more wet weather friday and saturday, promise after that will end 2012 on a quiet note and start 2013 on a dry note. front moving away, low starting to pull away losing instability. one last chunk of energy will come through during the afternoon from crescent city and eureka and bring chance of scattered showers see how they do taper during the overnight hours? most out over the ocean where instability sits at night. tomorrow morning opening of the clouds, fog is possible for your commute thursday morning but it looks like it will be dry. as we head into thursday afternoon, we are going to see a lot of sunshine, temperatures where they are

today, low to mid 50s stuck in this cool air mass, high clouds roll in friday morning then sprinkles to light rain as we head from mid-morning into the afternoon and looks like the heaviest rain will fall in the evening overnight towards saturday, not going to be that heavy. possibly up to half inch in the north bay. we still have scattered snow showers now until 4:00 in the sierra, another couple of inches possible down to 4,000 feet. looks like chains are going to be needed even during the afternoon and overnight. we get a break tomorrow, sunday, monday and tuesday finally, three days in a row of dry weather instead of just one. more news now. happy kwanzaa, today is the first day of the seven day festival honoring african-american heritage and culture in the bay area largest celebration for

families got underway an hour ago at the bay area discovery museum in sausalito. kwanzaa focuses on unity, purpose, creativity and tpaeufgt. still ahead -- the search for the honor of this lost wedding ring found on the side of i-80 in the sierra. >> could it belong to someone in the bay area? we'll be right back. [singing] hoveround takes me where i wanna go...

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